Moments into the fourth period, down by four, the intensity and fire that has spurred this Mexia team through 11 straight wins this season began to show with full force as the Blackcats used their intimidating full court pressure to shut down the Corsicana Tigers, outscoring the Bengals 23-12 to record win number 12, 70-63, at home.

Coach Tony Leamon knew beforehand that last Friday night’s game with the Tigers was going to be a challenge for his team. Both No. 18 Mexia and Corsicana have developed a small rivalry that dates back to last spring and summer when the two would meet in off-season competition and according to Leamon, those games would often end up with less than a five-point difference in either direction.

True to form, Friday’s game was nip and tuck as the Tigers jumped out to as much as an eight-point advantage late in the third period which, by the look of things at that moment, Corsicana could easily hand the Blackcats their first loss of the season.

The key phrase was “could have.”

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